Academic Portfolio Leader in Tourism and Events Management

I joined the University of Bedfordshire after completing my PhD in January 2010 as a lecturer and was promoted to Senior Lecturer four years later. In the winter of 2017, I took on the role of the Academic Portfolio Leader in Tourism and Events Management. My primary role is to provide academic leadership for courses within my portfolio e.g. tourism, events, hospitality and aviation.

My research interests include various issues of community displacement, diaspora and geographies of identity, root-tourism, homeland tourism and diaspora tourism. Specifically, my research study examines the influence of travel and tourism in formulating cultural identity within the Sarawakian-Chinese community, with a special focus on travel to the People's Republic of China (PRC), the 'ancestral homeland'.

Qualifications

• PhD Tourism Studies - University of Bedfordshire
• MSc Conservation and Recreation Management - University of Hertfordshire
• BSc (Hons) Aquatic Resource Science and Management - University Malaysia Sarawak

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Teaching Expertise

• I am the Course Coordinator for MSc International Tourism Planning and Management.
• I teach both Postgraduate and Undergraduate courses and I am the Unit Coordinator for Tourism Policy and Practice (Level 7), Research Methods (Level 6) and Research Project (Level 6).
• I supervise Undergraduate and Postgraduate dissertations.

Research Interests

• Displacement, diaspora and geographies of identity
• Root-tourism, homeland tourism, diaspora tourism
• Event Tourism
• Visiting friends and relatives

Research Projects

• PhD thesis (funded by the University of Bedfordshire) The Influence of Travel in Formulating Cultural Identity: The Case of the Sarawakian (Malaysian) Chinese

Research Awards

• 2007-2009 Postgraduate Research Studentship, University of Bedfordshire, UK
• 2006-2007 BCUC Research Studentship. Faculty of Leisure and Tourism, Buckinghamshire New University, UK

Research Supervisions

• Zhao, Yili 'Issues, Interpretations and Understandings of Sustainable Tourism Development at Mount Taishan, Shandong Province, China'. (Second supervisor)
• Na sootorn, Angwara. 'The Eastern Perspective of Responsible Tourism: the case of Nong Khai, Thailand'. (Second supervisor)
• Limpradit, Banthita. 'The role of tourism in poverty reduction in Bulon Island, Satun Province, Thailand' (second supervisor)
• Lupton, Katherine. 'The Role of Tourism in Developing Environmentally Ethical Behaviour: A Case Study of the New Forest National Park' (second supervisor)
• Internal PhD examiner: Proyrungroj, R. (2013) Orphan Volunteer Tourism in Thailand: Understanding Motivations, Experiences and Local Residents' Attitude. PhD University of Bedfordshire

Publications

• Seaton, V. and Tie, C. (2015). 'Are Relatives Friends? Disaggregating VFR Travel 1994–2014' in Barker, E. and King, B. (eds.). VFR Travel Research: International Perspectives. Bristol: Channel View pp. 28-45.
• Tie, C., Holden, A. and Park, H.Y. (2015) A 'reality of return': The case of the Sarawakian-Chinese visiting China. Tourism Management, 47: 206-212.
• Tie, C and Seaton, V. (2013) Diasporic identity, heritage and "homecoming": How Sarawakian-Chinese tourists feel on tour in Beijing. Tourism Analysis, 18(3): 227-244.
• Tie, C (2009) The Influence of Travel in Formulating Cultural Identity: the case of the Sarawakian-Chinese. University of Bedfordshire, Unpublished PhD Thesis.

Conference Presentations

• 'The proof of the pudding: a comparative analysis of hospitality curricula' (Ujma and Tie). The conference is organised by the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE). ATHE Annual Conference 2014: Co-Creation in Tourism Teaching and Learning. 4th-5th December 2014 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh (hosted by Edinburgh Napier University).
• 'Religiously not religious: oscillating between the centre and the periphery'. The conference is organized by the University of Nicosia, the Euro-Mediterranean Academy of Tourism (EMAT) and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO). The Guiding the Pilgrim: Religious Travel and Tourism in a Globalising World. 27 & Saturday 28, April 2012. THE UNESCO AMPHITHEATRE, UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA, CYPRUS
• 'Travel as a Force in Formulating Cultural Identity: The Case of the Sarawakian [Malaysian] Chinese Visiting China. Conference organised by the Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE), the 18th Tourism and Hospitality Education and Research Conference. See Change: Tourism and Hospitality in a Dynamic World. 10-13 February 2009, Esplanade Hotel Fremantle, Western Australia.
• 'Travel as Motivating Force in Negotiating Cultural Identity'. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, The 3rd Graduate Research in Tourism Conference. 25th -28th May 2006. The conference was held in Canakkale, Turkey.

Contact Details

T: +44 (0)1582 743759
E: carol.tie@beds.ac.uk